113 Days Blog: The Season Is In Full Swing

The Stonehill women's lacrosse team is the subject for an upcoming documentary that will follow the team throughout the 2012 season. The following are thoughts from sophomore attacker Mary Lee Mahony. Other players will check in periodically throughout the season as the filming process continues.

The Stonehill Women’s lacrosse season is finally in full swing. With our 12-11 win over Dowling, our team went into Florida with the confidence that we needed. The hustle and sheer perseverance we showed during the second half in Dowling was the kind of momentum we needed to build upon for our next two games.

Our team arrived early Sunday morning to the airport with our camera crew who was there to capture our long day of traveling. We have certainly adjusted to the ever-present camera and are definitely more comfortable in front of it. No one on our team has altered their personalities in the slightest, and it is really come to the point that most of us forget that it is even there. The two producers, Katie Shannon and Betsy Greer, have become a part of our team. Their personalities have certainly added our team’s already interesting dynamics, and their friendliness and encouragement has been very reassuring during this process.

Adjusting to the Florida heat was certainly difficult, but that was the least of our worries. The athleticism that embodied both of the teams we were about to face was certainly one of our biggest challenges. On Thursday our team was matched up against Phieffer. With a solid 19-6 win over the Falcons, our team felt ready to take on Rollins. The 4th nationally ranked team came out strong, but we matched their power throughout the first half. In the beginning on the second half, the score was tied 7-7. This game was a battle from then on out, with both teams fighting relentlessly for the win. The score was tied 12-12 after the second half which brought this game into overtime. Every player on the left everything they had on the field for those six minutes of play. Despite our fatigue and aching muscles, we did everything we could in attempt to stop the Tarheels winning streak. Unfortunately, Rollins walked away with the win with a one goal difference.

Even though this was a really tough loss, I was particularly happy that our camera crew was here to capture this game. Anyone in the stands that day would say that this game kept the crowd on the edges of their seat the entire time. A lot of people are unaware of how captivating and entertaining a women’s lacrosse game can be. This game in particular featured two incredibly athletic and persistent teams who were unyielding when it came to giving up. The looks on our faces after the game will prove to anyone just how much this team means to us. Even though our team has to move on from this loss, it was the kind of game that many of us won’t be able to forget.

This week our team takes on Saint Aslems, Saint Mikes, and Southern Connecticut. The cameras will continue to capture what we encounter in these next games, whether it is positive or negative. Either way, our team will continue to give everything we have. Our team will do whatever it takes to make sure that we don’t experience how we felt after the Rollins game. Working that hard and not coming up with a win is an unsettling feeling. This week our team will not dwell on that loss, but rather as motivation for what is about to come.